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VOL. TWENTY NINE NUMBER FOUR JANUARY 2016 USA $5.99 CANADA $5.99 $5.99US $5.99CAN 01

0 09281 03050 8 BY PAUL VNUK JR.

SPL (Sound Performance Lab) is a German company with a 30-year history of crafting high-end and innovative audio gear. With a lineup that includes summing mixers, monitor controllers, EQs and more, SPL is perhaps best known as the creators of the Vitalizer and the Transient Designer. Another of the company’s significant achievements is its 120V rail op amp. Back in our November 2012 issue, SPL Iron Mastering Compressor When they say “big iron”... they mean it when I interviewed famed mastering which use the bias of a single tube for Iron can be run in dual mono or engineer Howie Weinberg, he raved compression, Iron uses a dual circuit topol- linked stereo mode. Unlike many linked about the 120V rails. According to ogy, where the incoming signal is split stereo compressors, where only the Howie, “The 120V Consoles that SPL between two tubes running in parallel and threshold settings are linked, on Iron all makes have much more headroom than then recombined. One tube is a settings (with the exception of input and a 60V analog console and you can cut 12AX7/ECC83 and the other a output levels) are linked and controlled hot records a lot cleaner.” 12AU7/ECC82. Each tube yields a slight- by the right channel controls. These op amps are currently found in ly different compression curve and feel. Each channel is dominated by a large the company’s Neos mixing console, It is interesting to note that neither of backlit VU meter (switchable between Phonitor 2 and Phonitor Mini headphone these tubes is commonly used in com- gain reduction, 0 or +10 dB levels) and amps, and the Passeq Mastering EQ, as pression circuits, as both tubes are a large 41-position stepped Threshold well as the newest member of the SPL known for their “breakup” characteristics knob—the same as the one found at the family and subject of this review: The and you see them more often in micro- center of the channels on the SPL Iron Mastering Compressor. phone preamps and guitar amps. This is Passeq. I first laid eyes and ears on the Iron “interesting” rather than “a potential Unlike the threshold knob, each con- when Recording traveled to The Studio issue” because Iron has exceptionally trol on Iron uses a stepped switch for at the Palms in Las Vegas last April for a high headroom—presumably thanks to precise recall. There are 6 switches per special product launch event hosted by the famed SPL 120V op amps, of which channel, and each one uses the same 6- Audio Plus Services. This is also where there are 18 inside! It’s virtually impossi- position stepped switch. There are also we were introduced to SPL’s new Creon ble to overdrive the unit. a handful of 3-position toggle switches. interface (review forthcoming), as well The unit also has 4 custom Mu-Metal All of the switches feel fantastic and are as Focal’s Trio6 Be Studio monitors iron transformers made for SPL by Lundahl. of the highest quality, with that satisfying (reviewed in our 2015 October issue) hearty click as you change settings. and the new Eden microphone from Four spaces of heavy metal Lauten (review forthcoming). Iron is an imposing yet elegant 4U rack- Controls and features: each channel mount unit. Its look and layout borrows Input/Output: The Input and Output Metallurgy heavily from the Passeq, with a pair of each have a throw of ±12 dB in 2 dB According to SPL, Iron takes its inspi- large knobs in the center of each channel steps, but they’re not set up with the typi- ration from “vintage compressors of the and all of the other controls radiating out cal single knob covering the entire radio era.” However, nothing about Iron from those. Unlike the Passeq, the Iron throw. Instead, there’s a separate 3- is a clone, copy, or approximation of does away with the classic SPL cham- position toggle labeled “– 0 +” and a any other compressor past or present. pagne silver/gold look and is finished in pot with 12 dB of throw; the switch con- The magic of Iron lies in its balance of the newer brushed matte black found on trols whether the knob is boosting, cut- simplicity and depth; overall I would call products like the Phonitor 2. Iron is avail- ting, or bypassed to unity gain. This may it a precision-feel piece with a high level able in a stunning red finish as well. seem a touch complicated, but this type of versatility and unique features. Rear-panel connections are quite sim- of stacked circuit offers a cleaner signal Iron is a variable-bias tube compressor, ple—balanced XLR ins and outs and path. It’s a similar concept to that of 1 often called a “vari-mu” design. Unlike unbalanced /4" TS connections for Manley Labs’ Massive Passive EQ, most standard variable-bias designs, external sidechaining. reviewed in our February 2015 issue.

Excerpted from the January edition of REcoRding Magazine 2016 ©2016 Music Maker Publications, inc. Reprinted with permission. 5408 idylwild Trail, Boulder, co 80301 Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119 For Subscription Information, call: 1-954-653-3927 or www.recordingmag.com Threshold: as mentioned above, this manual does offer a graph with each Flipping the toggle switch in the other large central knob offers 41 full stepped curve on it so you can make an direction engages Tape Roll-Off, which positions from 0 to 40 dB. It has a tight, informed choice. rolls off the high end steeply, starting at springy resistance that feels great. Hard Bypass: The last control for each 5–6 kHz. The extreme low end is also Attack/Release: Here is where the unit channel is an individual backlit hard gently attenuated. As its name implies, becomes a “feel” device. Both Attack bypass button. this is of course set to mimic the rolloff and Release have settings of Slow to characteristics of hitting analog tape. Fast with no numeric labels in between. Controls and features: global The last feature of Iron is Auto-Bypass, Why not? Because it would be pointless; In addition to the individual channel which allows you to dial in an interval via the attack and release speeds are entire- settings and the link function, there are a a small variable knob that will engage ly affected by Iron’s other functions and few unique global settings as well. The and disengage the unit. This allows you change quite drastically with each. first one is a global EQ of sorts with two to sit back in the sweet spot and audition Bottom line—you set the Attack and available choices. Iron’s affect on the music. This may seem Release by feel and by ear. The first is labeled AirBass. As its like a novelty or a gimmick, but it works Tube Bias: This setting, controlled by a name implies, it adds a thick 2 dB boost well and allows for better decision- 3-position toggle switch labeled in the low end, centering on 40 Hz, making by just listening rather than Low/Medium/High, changes the bias of while the upper frequencies are similarly pushing buttons and allowing said button the tube. The higher the bias, the more boosted 2 dB in the 10–20 kHz range. presses to influence your decisions. the compression digs in. Rectifier: This is perhaps the single most timbrally wide-ranging parameter on Iron. Paraphrased from the manual, the rectifier produces the bias voltage that controls the parallel tubes. There are six different choices, and each one has a direct and noticeable effect on the attack and release time. There are two initial Germanium choices (1 mF, 2 mF), LED (3.3 mF), Silicon (330 nF), a 3rd Germanium (220 nF) and a combination of Germanium and Silicon (100 nF). The only other compressor I have seen that offers a similar feature is Chandler’s Germanium Compressor (reviewed March 2008), which also uses multiple choices of Germanium, Silicon, and Zener settings.

Side Chain EQ: This control, while common on modern compressors, is usu- ally a highpass filter that allows low frequencies to pass through the compressor without it clamping down. On Iron you get 4 choices of preset EQ curves that are quite complex, as well as traditional external control. Note that like all sidechain signals, this does not add EQ or filtering to the signal path; instead, it controls which frequencies trigger the threshold and compression. Of all the functions on Iron, this one is the biggest “taste and feel” control, but the printed

Excerpted from the January edition of REcoRding Magazine 2016 ©2016 Music Maker Publications, inc. Reprinted with permission. 5408 idylwild Trail, Boulder, co 80301 Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119 For Subscription Information, call: 1-954-653-3927 or www.recordingmag.com SPL Iron Mastering Compressor gain reduction hard—up to 10 dB on average. This gave a nice high-fi tube tone that was not quite LA-2Aish but still vintage and controlled without being too squashed. Oddly, the only application where I did not use Iron much was on my main mix bus! Primarily that was because I’m too used to having a standard highpass style sidechain as well as a mix/blend control. In other words, I like a hint of bus compression sprinkled on the mix, but I like the ability to dial it back. Conclusion All of the work that I did with Iron made it to my final mixes for the album project I was working on. I have zero reservations recommending it as a high-fidelity, versa- tile dual mono or stereo compressor that will handle most any compression duties In use I had great results with fast Germanium you push into it. The only thing to be I should start off by pointing out that I am settings on the drum buss with Tube Bias aware of is that it is not a vibe box in the not a mastering engineer, but luckily Iron is at High, AirBass in and the Side Chain traditional sense. It does not get gritty and equally adept at bus work and individual on 2. This gave me tight, big and punchy driven, and its tube tone is on the clean, instruments, both tracking and mixing. drums. On the flip side, setting Iron slow opulent, pristine side. After a few days of use, the Tube Bias and gentle with a low tube Bias, the It is not cheap—like most mastering- and Rectifier settings can become second Germanium setting of 220 nF, and the grade boxes, it will set you back a nature as they relate to the overall grab Tape Roll-Off on, was great for more vin- healthy $5000 street. Keep in mind, and feel of the unit; you will find your own tage drum tones. though, that at $2500 per channel it’s favorites for many sources. On the other On electric guitar on a Ryan Adams not much different than many high-end hand, even after 2+ months with Iron, I American style song, I favored the Side mono tube compressors... and nothing am still coming to grips with the Side- Chain off, a Medium Bias, The Rectifier else out there really sounds like it. Chain EQ and what sources and styles of set to Ge/Si and the Tape Roll-Off on. music each setting is best suited for. My favorite use of Iron was as a pair Price: $4999 As for AirBass and Tape Roll-off, they of mono vocal compressors. Here I liked do exactly as advertised. Again, how digging in deep with the Bias at High, More from: SPL, spl.info; dist. in North and where they are used will be a case the Sil setting for the Rectifier and the America by Audio Plus Services, by case scenario. Side Chain off, and really hitting into the www.audioplusservices.com

Taking Iron To A Mastering Studio setting, but wished the Air and Bass could be As I mentioned, I am not a mastering engineer, split and used individually. He worried that in so I took the Iron on a field trip to spend some mastering it may be problematic to offer such time with mastering engineer Justin Perkins, who a big low-end stroke. owns Mystery Room Mastering in Milwaukee, WI. Overall he was so intrigued by Iron that I decid- Justin is a former mix engineer who used to work ed to leave it with him for a day, so he could run a at the famed Smart Studios in Madison, WI. His whole new master of the Miles Nielsen album resume includes work with The Replacements, through it and give the band and producers a Tommy Stinson, Gaslight Anthem, Cory Chisel, choice. His settings here were: Germanium 1 mF and Screeching Weasel, to name a few. on the Rectifier, Side Chain off, Attack at medium When I went to visit he was just wrapping fast, Release at one click below Fast, Input at unity, up a mastering job for the forthcoming Miles output +8 dB. Threshold was set to 11 dB and Nielsen and The Rusted Hearts album Heavy AirBass and Tape Roll-Off were off. Metal, due out in early 2016. (Miles is the son of Cheap When I came to pick up Iron, Justin only offered one concern Trick’s Rick Nielsen.) We spent an afternoon with Justin getting with the unit: the 2 dB steps on the output side. Like many mas- familiar with Iron and doing some quick masters of various tering engineers, Justin does not use a console and patches material, from prog-metal to ECM-style jazz, Americana-classic direct from compressor to converter. He felt that in mastering vs. rock, and all things in between. mixing, 2 dB steps may be a bit broad, and more work would Justin appreciated how absolutely clean the unit was; we jacked need to be done in the box to make minute final adjustments. it up to extreme levels with no signal through it and Iron is all but As such he felt 0.5 dB steps would be a wiser choice. dead silent. He also liked its slowest attack and release and found The outcome of the story is that in the end everyone that those settings worked well for jazz and folkier fare, where involved chose to go with the Iron mastered version and you you could dig in nicely for weight and fullness. On heavier metal can check out Miles’ website for release info sometime in early styles and hard rock, like many mastering compressors, Iron 2016. Not a bad endorsement!—PV worked best when set a little faster, but just tickling the meters. With regard to the Tape Roll-Off, Justin thought it was well Recording would like to thank Justin for his input and expertise. suited for taming sibilant and screechy sources like soprano Learn more at mysteryroommastering.com and milesnielsen.com. sax. On the flip side, he really like the Air part of the AirBass